Articles you may be interested inMeasurement of the redistribution of arsenic at nickel silicide/silicon interface by secondary ion mass spectrometry: artifact and optimized analysis conditions J. Appl. Phys. Accurate in depth profiling of As and P shallow implants by secondary ion mass spectroscopy Investigation of boron penetration through decoupled plasma nitrided gate oxide using backside secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling Sources of error in quantitative depth profiling of shallow doping distributions by secondary-ion-mass spectrometry in combination with oxygen floodingTo study the dynamics of dopant redistribution during the silicidation process, accurate secondary-ion-mass spectroscopy ͑SIMS͒ profiles of the dopant and matrix elements are needed in partially Ni silicided gates. A point-to-point calibration method was developed to quantify the SIMS profiles, taking into account the strong dependence of the ionization probabilities of As and B on the Ni content. The Ni and Si intensities, which are needed to monitor the variation in matrix composition, are influenced strongly by the used SIMS conditions. The Ni is pushed forward very effectively by an O 2 + beam, when low impact angles are used. But also the use of Cs + beam induces a serious broadening of the Ni profile. To identify the potential artifacts the sample is analyzed from the front and the back side. The use of backside SIMS turns out to be necessary to obtain accurate SIMS profiles of the Ni.